The days of China as a staging ground for progressive, even experimental, architecture may be numbered. High-profile projects by Rem Koolhaas, Zaha Hadid, Steven Holl, et al, while the delight of design aficionados around the world, haven’t impressed Chinese President Xi Jinping—at least in a positive way.

Yesterday AN learned, via ArchNewsNow, that Prince Charles is planning a new town in India that draws its inspiration from the slums and informal settlements of Calcutta and Bangalore. While the Prince has long been a bete noire for modernists, his interest in vernacular, impromptu settlements is in line with modern architects like the members of Team 10 and Bernard Rudofsky.

The Prince is no stranger to town building, having created a simulacrum of a medieval village at Poundbury. In India, the Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment plans to build 3000 homes–for an estimated 15,000 low income residents–interwoven with schools and small shops.

“We have a great deal to learn about how complex ­systems can self-organize to ­create a harmonious whole,” the Prince said in a statement, according to the Daily Mail. The Prince, widely admired for his work on sustainable agriculture, plans to include green features like rainwater collectors and natural ventilation.